Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $15.69 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,647 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,781 shares during the period. Apple makes up 0.7% of Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $15,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $4.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $212.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 67,874,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,627,933. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $203.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.45.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.95.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.